The world economy is continuing to recover but it’s still at a delicate stage, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde has warned.
“We have growth; we are not in a crisis. The not-so-good news is that the recovery remains too slow, too fragile, and risks to its durability are increasing,” Lagarde said in a speech Tuesday in Frankfurt, Germany.
She warned that because growth had been “too low for too long”, too many people were “simply not feeling it”.
“Let me be clear: We are on alert, not alarm. There has been a loss of growth momentum. However, if policymakers can confront the challenges, and act together, the positive effects on global confidence—and the global economy—will be substantial,” Lagarde said.
In its January World Economic Outlook, the organization cut its global growth forecast to 3.4 percent for 2016 and 3.6 percent in 2017. It warned that the pick-up in global activity was projected to be more gradual than in its October outlook.
“The slowdown and rebalancing of the Chinese economy, lower commodity prices, and strains in some large emerging market economies will continue to weigh on growth prospects in 2016–17,” the IMF’s January report said.
